I get this question a lot, so it seemed only natural that I should write a post about it.

A little while ago I started including fun and easy share options for Twitter, which I like to call “Twitter-sized bites.” They make it easy for people to share my posts, and I’ve noticed a definite increase in shares since adding them. So yay!

Making them is actually relatively easy to do, and since a lot of people have asked me how I create them, I’ve written up some easy steps. Enjoy!

Write the line that will appear on Twitter. Generally, you want this to be a short message because you need to leave room for attribution and the URL. Sometimes I’ll do a question, or a quote from the post, or a summarizing line. Experiment and see what works for you.

Make sure you included attribution. I’ll either include it in the message (i.e.: “Writer @Ava_Jae…”) or I’ll add it at the end (i.e.: via @Ava_Jae). There isn’t a right or wrong way to do it, but don’t forget this step!

Find your permalink. In Blogger, this is under “Post settings” beneath the Scheduling option when you’re drafting your post. If it's not showing the link, just click the box that says "Permalink" and it'll show up. Copy it and move on to the next step. UPDATE: If you have Wordpress, check Margarita Morris's comment below for directions on this and the next step.

Go to bit.ly and shorten the permalink URL to a bitlink. Paste your permalink into the section at the top of the page that says “Paste a long URL here to shorten.” Once you do, a pop-up should appear with your new, shortened URL. Yay! Copy that and move on to the next step.

Go to clicktotweet.com and choose “Basic Link.” You CAN sign in and make an account if you want to, but I don’t want to. “Basic Link” is in the top header next to “Downloads” and it’s all you need for making tweetable links.

Paste your bitlink and the message. If your message is too long, this is where you’ll see it. Edit it if you need to, make sure you have all three components (The message, the bit link and the attribution), then hit “Generate New Link.”

COPY the ctt link it gives you. Clicking on the link they give you will NOT give you what you need—it’ll show you a preview of the tweet, which is fine, but not what you’re going to embed. Instead, highlight the link they provide you with and copy it.

Go back to your post and make the section you want readers to click. For me, I stuck with a simple “Click to tweet” message in parenthesis. Highlight whatever text you want to use, then hyperlink it.

Paste your ctt link into the hyperlink settings and check “Open this link in a new window.” After you’ve done so, click done and you’re ready! Yay! Enjoy your new clickable tweets.

As most of you know, I adore Twitter. It’s easily one of my favorite social media sites, and it’s provided me with wonderful friends, great posts, book recommendations, tips that have stuck with me and two internships. I also wrote a post about why I’m glad I joined Twitter, and some tips on Twitter for writers so there’s that.

What I realized I haven’t talked about, and really should have, are Twitter chats.

Twitter chats are discussions that happen periodically and are marked under various hashtags. They’re often chock full of tips, publishing pros, wonderful writers and some really interesting discussions, so if you’re new to Twitter or just want to get more involved in the writing community, Twitter chats are the way to go.

Some other pros of fabulous Twitter chats include:

Connecting with other like-minded people. (SO IMPORTANT. For real. Try Twitter chats for this reason alone).

They’re fun.

Get questions answered.

But where to begin? It can be hard to find Twitter chats if you’re not following the right people or you’re brand new to Twitter, so I’ve compiled a list of some writing-related Twitter chats I know of. If you know of others, please do let me know and I’ll add them to the list:

#twdtopic: Tuesdays at 9PM EST—An open Twitter chat for writers run by The Writer Diaries. They discuss all sorts of publishing and writing-related topics.

Seeing how this is a writing blog where I share loads of tips and things I’ve learned along the way, I’ve started thinking lately about the best writing advice I’ve ever received.

There are a lot of tips out there that I know have helped me tremendously, which I’ve posted about. But the tip I keep coming back to and repeating most often to other writers, particularly new writers, is a simple one.

Finish the book.

I repeat this pretty often here at Writability, because it’s so insanely crucial. It’s ridiculously easy to get discouraged or sidetracked while first drafting—whether it’s getting caught in an editing loop or being distracted by a shiny new idea or losing interest altogether. But the thing is, if you never finish the book, you’ll have nothing to edit and work with to begin with.

I have no shame in saying that my first drafts are messy. I knock them out quickly and go through them over and over and over again later to root out the problems and replace it with fresh, stronger material. But if I didn’t get through the first draft to begin with, then I wouldn’t be able to do that, because the story wouldn’t be complete.

If you’re working on a first draft and you think your writing sucks and you’ll never get published, finish the book.

If you’ve got an awesome idea that you love but every time you try to write it, you lose inspiration or get distracted—finish the book.

There’s a secret to first drafting and it’s this: you don’t stop writing until it’s done. Even when you think it sucks, even when you start to wonder if you’re wasting your time, even if you suspect it’ll never get published, you finish the darn book.

Worry about the other stuff later. While you’re first drafting, all you have to worry about is finishing the book.

So I’m going to borrow from the brilliant Nathan Bransford on the format of these critiques, by first posting the full 250 excerpt, then sharing my thoughts, then sharing my redline critique. If you’d like to share your own critique, I totally encourage that, just make sure it’s polite, thoughtful and constructive. Any rude or mean comments will be deleted.

Here we go!

Title: BONEWOOD

Genre/Category: Dark YA High Fantasy

First 250:

A clan of stubborn bastards lives inside the Bonewood. Their stupidity is fortified by the river that forks around their island. They’ve lived there for six hundred years, and they’ll live there for six hundred more.

At least, that’s what Da told me when we first came to town nine years ago. Then he fell head over heart for a mousey-faced schoolteacher and suddenly we were those stubborn, stupid bastards too.

It’s a beautiful little town if you don't stay too long. Quaint and quiet, like something in a painting, with its windmill and thatched roofs and fields.

If you came by boat you’d probably be from Abandir, and the tiny little village would seem so peaceful after the war you just fought. You’d spend the day in town shopping and walking and talking and then you’d get back on your boat and sail out of the forest before finding a town with an inn, because Twopoint doesn’t have an inn and there are no other towns in the Bonewood. You’d think it’s because we’re so small, so quaint and the forest is too big, too wild.

That’s not why we don't have an inn.

If you came by land you’d never get here. It’s a two-day ride in any direction to the nearest town so you’d never make it to Twopoint and its cute windmill before nightfall. And the moment night fell, the Nightmares would eat you.

That’s why we don’t have an inn.

Okay! So Emmy mentioned to me that this is actually the entire first chapter, and it is expository, but she’s torn because it sets up her protagonist’s voice really well. I agree that it definitely has a wonderful voice (great job, Emmy!) however, I would actually cut this entirely.

This little snippet reads as a prologue to me, and because it is all exposition, I honestly think it would be much more effective to spread this information and backstory out gradually throughout the first part of the manuscript, rather than telling us all at once in a mini first chapter.

To me, the issue is nothing is happening. This is a nice little aside about the setting, and it is nice, but we don’t really know who the protagonist is or what (s)he is doing or anything beyond that (s)he has a father and they came to town nine years ago.

This is purely subjective, but I am, and always will be partial to openings that are in medias res (aka: start in the middle of something happening). To me, those kinds of openings are much more attention-grabbing and also show us a lot more about the protagonist through showing rather than telling.

So while I agree the voice is great here, I suspect the same voice is evident throughout the manuscript, and therefore this information would be better conveyed in snippets rather than all at once before the action.

Now for the in-line edits:

A clan of stubborn bastards lives inside the Bonewood. This is a great example of how to show voice in the very first sentence, and I love it. Their stupidity is fortified by the river that forks around their island. They’ve lived there for six hundred years, and they’ll live there for six hundred more.

At least, that’s what Da told me when we first came to town nine years ago. Then he fell head over heart for a mousey-faced schoolteacher and suddenly we were those stubborn, stupid bastards too. Love this! Again, the voice is brilliant. From “mousey-faced schoolteacher” to the “stubborn, stupid bastards” I am totally digging the protagonist’s voice.

It’s a beautiful little town if you don't stay too long. Quaint and quiet, like something in a painting, with its windmill and thatched roofs and fields.Great imagery.

If you came by boat you’d probably be from Abandir, and the tiny little village would seem so peaceful after the war you just fought. You’d spend the day in town shopping and walking and talking and then you’d get back on your boat and sail out of the forest before finding a town with an inn, because Twopoint doesn’t have an inn and there are no other towns in the Bonewood. You’d think it’s because we’re so small, so quaint and the forest is too big, too wild. I’m not sure how I feel about the second person shift here. It stuck out to me a little and I didn’t really connect with it, but others might feel differently.

That’s not why we don't have an inn. While I understand wanting to mirror this line with the last line, this felt unnecessary to me. I found myself thinking, okay, but I don’t need to know what ISN’T a reason the inn isn’t there.

If you came by land you’d never get here. It’s a two-day ride in any direction to the nearest town so you’d never make it to Twopoint and its cute windmill before nightfall. And the moment night fell, the Nightmares would eat you. This is excellent. I love the foreboding end to the chapter and this little tidbit intrigues me.

That’s why we don’t have an inn.

Overall, the writing is solid. There’s great imagery and voice and I can tell straight off the bat this is a strong writer. If I saw this in slush, I’d most likely keep reading, but recommend that this prologue was lopped off and the information was incorporated into the rest of the manuscript, like I said above.

Thanks for sharing your first 250, Emmy!

Would you like to be featured in a Fixing the First Page Feature? Keep an eye out for the next giveaway!

Twitter-sized bite:

Writer @Ava_Jae talks exposition in openings in the first Fixing the First Page critique. (Click to tweet)

So as some of you who follow me on Twitter know, I semi-recently became an editorial intern at Entangled Publishing. Yay! The experience has been completely wonderful so far and I’m loving it.

What most of you don’t know is this is actually my second internship. My first was at a literary agency, and that was awesome. My job during both internships has been basically the same: reading and evaluating submitted manuscripts or partials and writing up reports for each.

Both internships have been wonderful experiences and I’ve learned a lot from each—particularly about what makes a good opening.

I’ve found that 75% of the time, I can tell within the first fifty pages whether I’m going to recommend a rejection, R&R or acceptance. There have been a couple instances where I was able to tell within the first ten pages, but I always read the first fifty just in case.

So all of that said, here are five common issues I’ve seen that tend to lead to my putting the manuscript down after the first fifty pages:

Too much telling. I see this all the time. All. The. Time. And I get why—it can be pretty tough to learn how to spot and fix overtelling. But 9/10 times, when I see an overabundance of telling, the MS also has other issues that are a sign of a new writer or manuscript that needs more work.

Too much (or not enough) explaining. The thing with backstory, is there has to be a balance. Too much backstory and the plot drags and the readers become overwhelmed—too little and we don’t understand what’s going on or why things or important or what all these terms mean, etc. Both are problematic.

Flat voice/characters. Like many aspects of writing, this one is pretty subjective. To me, a flat voice or character is one that doesn’t stand out. If I don’t find a voice or protagonist memorable, it’s not necessarily an insta-killer, but combined with other issues and I’m likely to put it down. Conversely, if a manuscript has a fantastic voice or really interesting protagonist, but also has other issues, I’m more likely to fight for it.

Related to this is a voice that doesn’t sound right for it’s age group. I read a lot of YA submissions, so this commonly means a voice that doesn’t sound like a teenager, but like an adult trying to sound like a teenager—and this is more likely to be a killer than a less than memorable protagonist. The best remedy for this, is to read a lot of YA. Loads and loads of it. It’ll help, I promise.

Stiff/unrealistic dialogue. Bad dialogue makes me cringe, which isn’t really a reaction I want to be having while reading. Like part of the last point, this isn’t an insta-rejection point (unless it’s consistently really not good), but combined with other issues and it definitely factors in. (Related: here's a post on writing realistic dialogue).

Not enough happening. Unfortunately plot issues like this are a big deal. If I reach page fifty and I still don’t know where the story is going, it’s an enormous red flag. In an average manuscript, fifty pages is around 20% of a novel, give or take. By 20%, the inciting incident should have definitely happened, and the point of no return should be hinted at, if not already passed.

For me, page fifty is my evaluation point. It’s when I take stock of my reactions of the manuscript thus far and decide what decision I’m leaning towards. If nothing significant has happened by then, chances are I’m going to be leaning toward a rejection, which makes everyone (including me) sad.

So what can you do to make sure these aren’t issues in your manuscript? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—find excellent critique partners and beta readers. Evaluating your own manuscript is tough, and outside feedback can definitely help point you in the right direction when time comes to edit.

So those are my interning observations, now I want to hear from you:what makes you put a book down when reading? Twitter-sized bites:

Editorial intern @Ava_Jae shares some common issues seen in the slush pile. #pubtip (Click to tweet)

Intern @Ava_Jae talks the importance of the first 50 pages & common issues. Do you have these problems in your MS? (Click to tweet)

Deciding you want to be a writer is scary. It’s also exciting, depending on the day of the week, and difficult, and fun and sometimes overwhelming. On especially interesting days, it’ll be all five.

I often get e-mails from new writers asking for tips—something to help them write their book, whether they’ve just started, haven’t started, have tried and failed to finish several times, or are just stuck with a particularly challenging WIP. So I’m going to share with you the advice I repeat most often: finish the book.

IMO, the first book is the hardest to finish. It’s the one where you fight the most doubts about your ability to finish a novel, where you haven’t yet figured out the process that works best for you, where you question whether or not you’re really an actual writer. (Those doubts, struggles and questions never really go away, but they’re often the loudest when writing that first ever book).

Finishing a book isn’t easy. There are going to be days when you seriously doubt your ability to reach the end. There will be days when you think your writing completely sucks, days when you hate your characters or your plot or you think your dialogue is stupid. There will be days when you start to wonder if maybe you should give up and try something else.

Don’t give up. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.

The truth is, your first draft will probably suck. Many published writers will tell you that their first drafts are laughably bad, but here’s the thing to remember: it doesn’t matter. The first draft isn’t about getting it right, it’s about getting it done. That’s it.

Next, you need to be reading. This isn’t optional. Read the popular and obscure, read whatever you can get your hands on, and most importantly, read the genre and category that you’re writing in. You need to know what’s out there in order to be able to write a book that’ll fit on the shelf. Not only that, but you’ll discover so much when reading—for example, I never would have learned how much I love dual-POV novels or Sci-Fi if I hadn’t read Beth Revis’s Across the Universe.

Read read read read read. You won’t regret the time you take to keep aware of what’s on the market (but I promise you, you will regret it if you skip this step).

Now you’re writing and reading. Awesome. The next thing you need to accept is you have to edit. A lot.

One of the best things I’ve done for my career thus far is to learn to love to edit. That’s right—I didn’t always love it, in fact, I kind of skimped on it with my first couple WIPs (learn from my mistakes, writers: do not skimp).

But even if you don’t learn to love to edit, you need to accept that it’s going to be a part of your life if writing is truly what you want to do. And yes, for those of you editing while first drafting, you will still have to edit again. Most likely several times.

Related to this note, you need critique partners that aren’t close friends or relatives. You need feedback from other writers, and not only that, you need the experience of critiquing someone else’s work. Make the effort to find some good critique partners, because they are truly invaluable to the writing process.

The next unfortunate truth is you’re going to get rejected. This doesn’t apply to just new writers—you’ll face rejection throughout your career, regardless of where you’re at. You’ll be rejected by agents, by editors and by negative reviews.You’ll learn the difference between a form rejection and a personalized rejection (and you’ll learn that personalized rejections are a thing to be cherished).

You may hear a lot of no’s for many many years before you hear your first yes (for me, it took eight years to hear the yes that landed me an agent). You may have to trunk manuscripts and write book after book that you then have to put away, but I promise you, this is normal and it’s okay. It’s not a waste of time—you’re learning and growing and beginning to get a feel for the tough part of the writing life.

The good news is this: the writing community is wonderful. I can’t encourage you enough to get involved—start a Twitter and follow other writers, read writing blogs, check out forums, whatever you have to. The writing community is full of people in all stages of their journey, people who understand the rejection and the tough days when you want to give up on this writing dream. People who are there to help you when they can and encourage you when you’re feeling down. People who will dance with you when good things happen and beam when you share good news.

If you don’t listen to anything I’ve written, please please please do this: get involved with the writing community. You’ll learn so much from that alone.

Finally, know that you are, actually, a writer. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have an agent, or a book contract, or a published book. It doesn’t matter if you don’t write every day, or you’re not getting paid, or no one knows your name. If you write and you love to write, you’re a writer. Embrace it. Love it. Live it.

Twitter-sized bites:

.@Ava_Jae shares an open letter to new writers, with truths, tips and encouragement. (Click to tweet)

Writer @Ava_Jae shares a letter on the hardest aspects of writing & some encouragement for those just starting out. (Click to tweet)

So while working on my last couple manuscripts, I’ve been thinking a lot about antagonists. Specifically, on antagonists that I really actually love.

I already wrote a post listing my top five favorite antagonists (spoiler: they include the fabulousness that is the Darkling, Warner, Khan, Moriarty and the Graceling baddie), but as a writer, I’ve known for a while that I wanted to write antagonists that I cared about just as much as I did the protagonist.

Happily, I’ve started to work toward exactly that, and I’ve been picking up a couple tips along the way:

Get to know them (and love them) first. This, by far, has been the biggest help to me in writing antagonists I care about. By thinking of them as characters first, rather than the evil force that makes my protagonist’s life difficult, I’ve been able to connect with them better in the brainstorming stages, so that when they arrive on the page, I don’t see them strictly as the evil obstacle.

Understand their motivation. The thing about the antagonist, is most times, they don’t think they’re doing the wrong thing (or if they recognize what they’re doing is wrong, they have a way to justify it to themselves).

Very few people do evil for the sake of doing evil. The choices they make are based on beliefs, experiences and some kind of worldview that shapes their way of thinking and ultimately influences their decisions. By understanding why your antagonist does the things he (or she) does—and even better, why he thinks what he’s doing is the right choice—your antagonist will turn out to be a much more interesting and developed character, than they would have otherwise.

Make them sympathetic (or at least understandable/relatable). This is related to the last point, but not entirely the same. Lately I’ve been thinking about what my antagonists’ lives are like off-screen (or off the page). Who do they care about? What do they like to do? What are they afraid of? What do they dream about? What secrets do they hold dear to them? Even if most of this information never comes up in your manuscript, knowing the bigger picture of your antagonists’ lives can give you plenty of opportunity to make them a little more relatable or human, so that the readers don’t view them as just the opposing force.

Make them formidable. There are few things more disappointing than an awesome bad guy who is easily defeated. You antagonist should be a major obstacle for your protagonist—the hero of your story should struggle to overcome him. In order for us to truly appreciate the protagonists victory, his journey there has to be a struggle, and the moment that your protagonist fights the antagonist should be a battle that won’t easily be forgotten.

Avoid the clichés. Basically, everything in that linked post is what you should avoid if you want your antagonist to be taken seriously. Evil monologues, twirling mustaches and maniacal laughter are best saved for the corny movies.

So those are my tips for writing a great antagonist, now I want to hear from you:What tips do you have for writing awesome baddies?

Twitter-sized bites:

Do you struggle when writing antagonists? Writer @Ava_Jae shares 5 tips that may help. (Click to tweet)

"Very few people do evil for the sake of doing evil" and other antagonist-writing tips from writer @Ava_Jae. (Click to tweet)

So way back when I wrote a post on first page clichés, one of you lovely readers asked if I’d consider starting a public first page critique thing. And I’ve considered it and decided it might be fun.

So! Depending on how popular this feature is, I’ll be doing a public first 250 word critique every once in a while. Using the lovely rafflecopter widget, anyone interested in winning a PUBLIC (as in, featured in a post on this blog) first page critique can enter. Some things to note:

ONLY the first 250 words will be critiqued (up to finishing the sentence). If you win and send me more, I will crop it myself. No exceptions.

ONLY the first page. I don’t want 250 random words from your manuscript, or from chapter 3. If you win the critique and send me anything other than the first 250 words of your manuscript, I will choose someone else.

I will actually critique it. Here. On the blog. I will say things as nicely as I can, but I do tend to be a little blunt. If you’re not sure you can handle a public critique, then you may want to take some time to think about it before you enter.

Genre restrictions. I am most experienced with YA & NA, but I will still accept MG and Adult. HOWEVER. If your first page has any erotic content on it, I ask that you don’t enter. I want to be able to post the critique and the first 250 in its entirety without making anyone uncomfortable, and if you win and you enter a page with erotic content, I will choose someone else.

You must have your first page ready. Should you win, you need to be able to submit your first page within 48 hours of my contacting you to let you know you won. If 48 hours pass and I haven’t heard from you, again, I will choose someone else.

You’ll get the most out of this if it isn’t a first draft. Obviously, I have no way of knowing if you’re handing me a first draft (though I will probably suspect because it’s usually not that difficult to tell). I won’t refuse your page if it’s a first draft, but you should know that this critique will likely be of more use if you’ve already had your betas/CPs look over it. Why? Because if you don’t, the critique I give you will probably contain a lot of notes that your betas & CPs could have/would have told you.

There will not be a round 2 (unless you win again in a future contest). I hate to have to say this, but if you win a critique, it’s NOT an invitation to send me a bunch of your revisions. I wish I had the time available to be able to look at revisions, but sadly, I don’t. If you try to break this rule, I will nicely say no, and also remember to choose someone else should you win a second contest. Which would make me sad. :(

So that’s it! If you’re okay with all of the above and would like to enter to be the first ever public critique on Writability, do the thing with the rafflecopter widget below. You have until Saturday at midnight EST to enter!

Way back, I wrote a post about tumblr for writers, so if you don’t know what a tumblr is or why it maybe useful for writers, that’s where you want to go. This is related, but more blogger-centric.

When I first created a tumblr blog several years ago, I signed up thinking it might be good for inspiration and a little social media fun. I definitely didn’t think it’d one day become the fifth largest traffic source for Writability. But after many years and more than a couple posts becoming way more popular on tumblr than I ever expected, I’ve come to realize tumblr can be a fantastic way for bloggers to share their posts.

As a rule, I generally share every post I publish on blogger in full on tumblr. When I first started experimenting with this, I initially just shared a couple paragraphs then included a “read more” link, but I found that people usually didn’t click to read more and they often didn’t share because the post was incomplete. So I tried sharing the posts in their entirety instead, including a link to the original post on the blogger blog, by sharing it as a link post rather than a text post.

Much to my surprise, that worked about a thousand times better. Sometimes literally.

Because of this happy success, I thought I’d share with you a couple steps to maximizing your tumblr reach:

As mentioned above, share your posts as a LINK post. See the screenie up there? That’s the button you want to press. The reason this works better is it allows you to share the URL of the original post, so if people are interested they can click back to your blog and check it out. As proven by my traffic, people do click.

Make sure you title your link post. I’ve often seen posts shared that were just a URL. Those tend to get less shares, because they look messy and aren’t as clear as those that are titled. Titling your post is easy—just type in whatever the title of your blog post is in the box that says “Title.” Pretty self-explanatory.

Use tags. I read somewhere that tumblr only pays attention to the first five tags that you include, so make sure you choose your tags carefully. These are important, because oftentimes people will search certain keywords for a post they’re looking for, and if you tagged your post with that keyword, they’ll come across your post even if they’re not following you. It’s an easy way to get a little extra exposure.

The reason this helps you with exposure is because oftentimes, bloggers will notice when a certain follower often shares their posts, which can lead to said bloggers checking out your blog, which can lead to them following your blog, which can lead to them eventually sharing some of your posts. The tumblr community is pretty awesome like that. :)

The great thing about tumblr is your posts have a shelf life of basically forever. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a post suddenly get tons of reblogs (or shares) months after I originally posted. It happens, and it happens pretty frequently.

So if you’re a blogger whose been considering starting a tumblr blog, I definitely recommend it. It’s been a wonderful experience thus far, and one I intend to continue for a long time.

Do you use tumblr? Why or why not?Twitter-sized bites:

Blogger @Ava_Jae shares how tumblr unexpectedly became her 5th largest traffic source. #bloggingtips (Click to tweet)

Bloggers, do you share your posts on tumblr? Writer @Ava_Jae talks how and why you may want to consider it. (Click to tweet)

Why tumblr is useful for bloggers and how to maximize your shares there. (Click to tweet)

Angels, demons, fairies, occult, vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters, grim reapers, ghosts and just about anything else that’s not quite human are all within the paranormal realm.

A few exceptions include aliens, which are Sci-Fi, and Greek gods, which tend to be viewed as mythology/fantasy. Oftentimes, there’s a romance involved (though that’s not mandatory) and there’s nearly always tons of action—which is part of the reason I love it so much. :)

Pros/Cons of Writing YA Paranormal:

Pros:

Tons of variety. When most people think of paranormal, they tend to jump straight to vampires, but that’s just one option available in this huge world that is YA Paranormal. The list I had above include just some of the options available to paranormal writers—the possibilities really are endless. For example, one of my CPs wrote a pretty awesome YA Paranormal about Dreamcatchers who fight Nightmares, which is releasing later this year—like I said, there are loads of possibilities.

Everyday life with a (huge) twist. This is the other part of paranormal novels that I adore—more times than not, the books are set up so that it seems like our everyday world, except for this often hidden element of whatever flavor of paranormal the book has. Many paranormal books even operate under the assumption that the paranormal aspect is there, but most people don’t know about it, which I personally love, because it allows me to imagine that paranormal stuff operates IRL.

Exciting reads. Paranormal books tend to have pretty exciting plots, because the element that makes them paranormal also tends to be rather dangerous. If you like to write fast-paced novels, YA Paranormal definitely qualifies.

Cons:

Very tough market. I’ve already written about dead genres here, so I won’t go into that again, but YA Paranormal is very much considered a dead genre. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to sell or find representation for a YA Paranormal manuscript, but it’s definitely tough. If you have a great idea for a YA Paranormal manuscript, however, I don’t think this should deter you from writing it—it’s just good to be aware of the state of the market.

Some stigma. The whole Twilight effect is still in play with paranormal, so many people tend to automatically equate YA Paranormal with Twilight and make judgments. This is especially true if your book has vampires or werewolves (which is a shame, because there are plenty of awesome vampire novels out there). Again, this shouldn’t deter you if you’re passionate about YA Paranormal, but chances are you’ll encounter this when you tell people what you write.

Recommended Reading:

As I’ve said before, reading in the genre you’re writing is not optional. No really.

Note: While I haven’t read all of these, the ones I haven’t read I either want to read, have heard good things about, or were rating highly on Goodreads (or all three).

If you’ve been researching query tips for some time, chances are likely you’ve probably heard someone suggest that you use a book comp within your query (and if you haven’t heard, you’ve heard it now).

For those who don’t know, a book comp is a comparison of your manuscript to one or two books, movies, TV shows or authors (or a blend thereof). Usually these are some sort of mashup, for example, x book meets x book, or x book meets x element.

Book comps are great for several reasons:

They show the agent/editor you know the market.

They give a specific sense of the uniqueness of your book.

They show there’s a potential audience for your manuscript.

They’re fun. (Well. To me.)

When you’re first starting out, choosing a book comp can sound a little terrifying—there are so many books to choose from, and initially and it can seem a little overwhelming to have to choose one or two that fits your manuscript. But once you get the hang of it, choosing book comps isn’t nearly as difficult as it may seem.

Before I go on, here are some actual examples that were used successfully, whether to land an agent or book deal (or both):

I pitched my NA Sci-Fi as “The Girl of Fire and Thorns on a technologically advanced alien planet.”

So when you’re trying to come up with book comps, here’s how to begin:

Make a list of books/TV shows or movies similar to your book. By similar, I don’t mean “exact.” What you’re looking for are elements that could be pulled from a book that your manuscript has. For example, if you wrote a Middle Grade Fantasy with a humorous vibe, you may comp the Artemis Fowlseries, or if you wrote a YA Fantasy involving time travel and medieval-like assassins, you may say Hourglass meetsThrone of Glass. A YA Contemporary Fantasy-like Beauty and the Beast retelling could be Cruel Beauty in the 21st century. The possibilities are pretty endless.

Figure out the unique aspect of your book. Remember, the idea isn’t to say how your book is exactly like another book—it’s to say your book is similar to another book, but different enough that it’s unique. You can explain this by mashing two books together like some of the examples above, or by adding a twist like “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens” above.

Start mashing. It might take a couple combination attempts before you figure out something that really fits your book, and that’s okay. Bounce some ideas off your beta readers and critique partners to see if they think it fits. Play around with a couple options until you settle on one you really like. Once you’ve chosen, you’re done! Yay!

Some things to keep in mind:

Stay away from mega-bestsellers. The problem with using hugely successful books, is it doesn’t really show you know the market (because everyone’s heard of that book) and it also insinuates that you have mega-high expectations of instant bestsellerdom. Which hopefully isn’t true.

Make sure it makes sense (or explain if it’s a stretch). Be careful when you’re choosing your comps that they’re not so out there that it doesn’t make sense. For example, Vikings meets House is a bit of a stretch, however if you can concisely explain how it works, more power to you.

Stick to one or two comparisons, tops.Hourglass meets Cruel Beauty meets Shatter Me meets The False Prince meets Ocean’s Eleven doesn’t work. Why? Because you’re throwing way too much at once, and instead of giving a specific idea of your books, you’re just throwing a bunch of titles in the air to see what sticks. And in that case, nothing is going to stick. It’ll just look like you don’t really know your manuscript well enough to narrow it down to one or two comparisons, and that’s definitely not the message you want in your query.

Bonus tip: come up with your book comp before writing the manuscript. I did this with my last two WIPs, and not only did it make me even more excited for the WIP, it helped me keep focus of the big picture of the manuscript. Also, I had a quick description of the WIP when people asked what I was working on, which helps.

So that’s it!Now I want to hear from you: what tips for book comps do you have to share? Twitter-sized bites:

Getting your query letter ready? Writer @Ava_Jae discusses how and why to include book comps. #querytip (Click to tweet)

Do you have a book comp in your query? Writer @Ava_Jae discusses why it's important and shares some tips. #querytip (Click to tweet)

So this is something I’ve really had to think about lately, while revising one of my WIPs and preparing to revise another WIP, which is also in need of major world-building.

Once you’ve established your world-building elements, whether it’s technology, magic, setting, culture, etc., step two is to isolate each of those major elements and think about how it affects your protag's world.

For example, if you’re incorporating some form of magic into your world, you need to think about the implications. Does everyone use magic? If so, is it considered normal? If so, is it considered unnatural or weird for someone to not use magic? If this is a more modern-day setting, do they have technology that works with the magic, or are they two very separate entities? Do they cancel each other out?

This works the same way with technology or fun gadgets. Say you have a Sci-Fi world with a technology that extends lifespan. How does that affect population growth? Does everyone have access to that technology? Is it free, or extremely expensive, so only the wealthy can afford it? How does this affect society’s perception of youth and old age? Does it affect how society views illness, whether chronic, terminal, or the flu?

The ripple effect demonstrated here, to me, is key to effective and believable world-building. Every element of world-building you write into your novel has some sort of influence on your characters’ world—and sometimes it takes a little extra brainstorming to realize that any one element has more of an effect than you may have originally imagined when you first dreamed up the element.

Can you think of any ripple effect world-building examples from a book, movie or TV show? Twitter-sized bites:

Have you considered the ripple effect of your worldbuilding? Writer @Ava_Jae discusses this important step. (Click to tweet)

"Once you’ve established your worldbuilding elements...think about how it affects your protag's world." (Click to tweet)

It's time for another plot essentials post! Now that we've talked about the inciting incident, it's time to move on to the next major plot point: The Point of No Return.

Whereas the inciting incident kicks the story off that dominos scene after scene into a novel, the point of no return is the moment in the book in which the protagonist must embrace the journey he or she's about to take and move forward, knowing full well that they will never be able to return to their normal life.

Keeping with our examples from the last plot essentials post, here are the points of no return from a couple popular novels:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling): There seems to be some debate online on the PoNR, but I tend to agree with the most popular answer—when Harry boards the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Up until the point, he could have hypothetically returned to Privet Drive and continued to live as he did—but after boarding the Hogwarts Express, there's no turning back. He's on his way to wizarding school, where he'll start on a new phase of his life.

City of Bones (Cassandra Clare): When Clary's mother is abducted and Clary herself is attacked by a demon, her life irrevocably changes. She can't go on as a normal teenager—her mother is missing, her life is in danger and she can no longer deny that the things she's been seeing (the demons and Shadowhunters) are indeed real.

Divergent (Veronica Roth): When Tris chooses to become Dauntless, she can't go back. She's made a decision that has altered the course of her life—she can't change her mind and go back to Abnegation, and even if she fails Dauntless initiation, there's no returning home.

Similarly to the inciting incident, the PoNR isn't a plot point you should skip, either. Of course, I wouldn't list it as a plot essential if including it wasn't important. :)

Can you identify the point of no return in your WIP or favorite book? Twitter-sized bites:

Working on a plot for your WIP? Writer @Ava_Jae discusses the importance of the point of no return. (Click to tweet)

Do you know your WIP's point of no return? Writer @Ava_Jae talks identifying this plot point, with examples. (Click to tweet)